The Wedding Planner
by vila-pv
Summary: Two failed marraiges.Two runaway brides.Yet Hermione wants the jinxed-in-love Harry Potter to plan her wedding with Severus Snape.Will the groom kiss his bride or will Harry's jinx catch up with them?Slash perhaps. R&R.
1. Much Ado About Nothing

The Wedding Planner

**Chapter-1**

_**Much ado about nothing**_

"WHAT ?"

Hermione sighed. This was why she had waited so long to tell him. Snape (she still called him that in her mind) could be so difficult to convince. All those years of managing successive generations of Slytherins had given him a definite advantage when it came to confrontations. It was best to nip his protests off at the bud rather than let them grow.

"Severus, Harry is just so perfect for this. There couldn't be a better choice...", she explained.

Severus sneered, "Indeed, Perfect Potter. He is the best fit for everything, isn't he?". "Oh, come on, you know that is not what I meant. It is just that he has a lot more experience at this than you or me and I always wanted a traditional yet informal muggle wedding. You agreed to this too, remember".

"Hermione, don't sidetrack me. I do not mind how we get married, so far as it makes our relationship stronger. But why on earth would you want the Boy-who-was-twice-jilted to plan our marraige? I never agreed to that."

"Severus, that was extremely unkind. Harry has always been supportive of our love. He even took Crookshanks and Salazar along on his World Cup tour just so we could enjoy the Hawai holiday. As for him being jilted, it wasn't his fault. And you, of all people must know that. After all, your godson stole Seamus from the altar."

"If there is one thing you cannot dispute, Miss Granger, it is the fact that Iam not a kind man. In fact, I fervently hope to never earn that title. As for Potter's suppport, he simply could not get anybody other than your cat and my snake for company so soon after his failed marraige attempt. And if you choose to blame Draco, I have as much right to blame Longbottom for stealing Miss Weasley, wouldn't you say?"

Hermione reflected that Snape was partly right. Harry, despite being heralded as The Witch Weekly's "Most Charismatic Wizard" for months running, also carried the dubious distinction of having been left dry on the marraige altar twice. Ginny fleeing on their wedding day had been a definite surprise. To top it all, she had returned wedded to Neville, Harry's best man for the wedding. It had created a huge furore in the Wizarding World. Any other man would have accused Ginny of betrayal but Harry had had a private discussion with the couple and publicly announced his best wishes to both of them. He had even spoken to the press (something he fervently hated to do) and requested them to accept and bless the newly weds as well as honor his privacy by not commenting on his affairs. Surprisingly, most reporters agreed and maintained a decent regard for Harry's words. Hermione privately believed that none of them was ready to cross Harry and face the wrath of the Man-Who-Saved-Us (as Harry had been christened following Voldemort's defeat and death).

"Listen Severus, we are not here to discuss Harry. Our wedding is the issue now. If not for Harry, whom do I depend on? My family has almost no contact with me. My parents were all I had. You hate your people, whoever is left now. Professor Dumbledore would make a great father to give away the bride but he is obviously busy trying to keep the ministry from meddling in the school syllabus, the forbidden forest, the werewolves regulations, the Hogwarts staff composition and even the Quidditch team composition, for God's sake. I need someone with experience at arranging a wedding so none of our unwed friends count. Ginny is in India, your godson is in Hungary chasing dragons and even Luna is collecting reports for The Quibler in New York. There just isn't anybody else."

Severus realised he was losing the argument. He had known it from the start. He knew that Granger (he still called her that in his mind) would never reach a decision without analysing the pros and cons of every action. Though she called him a born and bred Slytherin, he could never really call her a Gryffindor (and thank Merlin for small favours). She had too much of Ravenclaw in her, even flashes of Slytherin. That was what had made her agreable to him. When Albus had assigned her to the Research department under Severus' directions, he had doubted her abilities to think outside the usual realm of books. But she had not been a disappointment. She had a ready wit and a sharp intelligence. She was perceptive and put up with his passion for potions. He had thought she would love Weasley and all contact with her would cease after the war. However, Weasley had attained the reputation of a flirt and had followed Cho Chang to China soon after the war. That seemed to break Granger's barriers and she started spending quality time with Severus.He did not know if he loved her but he was too opportunistic to let the chance go when she showed interest in him. The death of her parents in a landslide had brought her closer. She was still waiting for an answer, he realised.

"Why not Mrs.Weasley? Why can't we plan the wedding ourselves? Iam not sure I want to put up with the Saviour and his blessed demeanor. For that matter, he has his job to do, doesn't he? Chasing an unseen ball while thousands ogle his shaggy hair and world famous backside."

Hermione shot back," That was pathetic, truly. I don't want Molly doing this and Harry is the current national Quiditch seeker. Obviously the spectators enjoy watching him play. Not that he is sore to look at, quite the contrary in fact. It is off season now. He is free for three months resting after the Eurasian Cup victory last week. He will do it. Look, Severus, if you have a valid objection, tell me. Otherwise, it is time to give in, period."

He heard the decisive tone in her voice and realised it was time to capitulate. A good fighter must always know when to retreat else he would never be able to find the retreat.

"Fine, do as you wish to. Just make sure of the details with him. I don't want to wake up on my wedding to find the robe or tuxedo or whatever it you call it is not yet ready. Of course, I will never understand how you got Potter, with his rotten luck, to agree to arranging my wedding. The idea sounds hilarious".

"Harry doesn't dislike you as much as you think he does. He likes Salazar too much for that. As for how he agreed, he hasn't. He doen't even know Iam planning this. But if I can convince the Stubborn Slytherin, I will easily be able to manage my best friend Gryffindor, don't you agree? All right, Severus. If I leave now, I will be able to catch our wedding planner at home all alone. So I will be off. Do you think Salazar and Crookshanks will soften his reaction?"

She didn't wait for his answer. Swooping down, she bestowed a quick kiss on his cheek and left the living room to change out of her home wear. As Severus watched Granger leave the house with a determined cat and a two foot snake in tow, her smirked realising that the Man-Who-Saved-Us didn't stand a chance against their combined assault.

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AN:**So, what do you think? Should I continue? Considering the poor response to my other fic, I have decided to wait for atleast 5-10 encouraging reviews before I post the other chapters. Do wish me luck and do review if you like it. (Review even if you don't). 


	2. Understanding Harry

**The Wedding Planner**

**Chapter - 2**

_**Understanding Harry**_

Harry never did. He never stood a chance against the veritable lioness and her friends of the animal kingdom. The whole conversation went along expected lines with Hermione conceding not one point and Harry gaining none either. At the end of it all, Harry solemnly swore on his friendship to  
(i) make sure the press kept out of the wedding (a Himalayan task given the couple's war hero status as well as Harry's personal involvement).  
(ii) keep Hermione posted on all matters of importance (Hermione found everything from the officiator's experience to the wedding honeymoon car a matter of great importance, so there).  
(iii) keep the Weasley twins from showcasing their products at the wedding party (he could truly sympathise with her there).  
(iv) try and get Ron the recluse cum Casanova to attend (that seemed like a carefully worded afterthought).  
And when the tornado ended, Harry was left with whole load of things to perform,arrange or order and no free time at all for the next month.

But of course, he loved it. Though he never showed it, he thought Hermione understood him. He had always been enchanted by weddings. It wasn't the ceremony, the party or the get together, instead it was the very act of marrying that was so fascinating and reassuring. He had himself lost out twice too many times but couldn't get himself to stop hoping that perhaps, there was somebody out there...

Somebody to warm your feet with along the fireplace, somebody to fight with knowing full well they wouldn't think any less of you, somebody to sit in silence with cause there is nothing to say when the mind speaks for itself. His parents, he knew, must have had something like that. Atleast he hoped so.

Harry had been terribly wounded when Ginny didn't turn up on the wedding. He had waited, as the church bells tolled,waited as the guests got restless, waited as Arthur Weasley went over to Ginny's single flat to check on her and waited after they realised she had left him for another. So soon after the war, the 19 year old wizard's wedding had been hailed as an event to herald the new era of peace and progress.

But he remembered Ginny as she looked when she returned with Neville. He had seen the truth there, that she loved Harry and would always do so, but she loved Neville more. He had read the guilt in Neville's eyes. For a moment, he had been tempted to tell Neville he hated them and then realised that he would hate himself if he did that. This couple was so obviously in love. They had been reluctant to tell him, fearing he would be hurt. They had made a clean bone of it all and now, of all the people here, the only person who could put them at ease was Harry himself.

He had made his decision then. He had gone out to face his guests and welcomed them all to join the feast and toast the newlyweds. He had never regretted his decision. It had spared all three of them a life of 'what if's. Yet it had hurt so much, like something was sucking your heart right out of you. And he had been gracious through it all, assuring people, reporters and friends that he wished the two of them all happiness. Not that he fooled Hermione or the Weasleys any.

The affair with Seamus started then as an attempt to alleviate the pain. He was a sports columnist and had the maximum contact with Harry among his mates. Hermione was slowly getting to know Snape while Ron was nursing a broken (by Cho) heart. Harry had slowly come to depend on Seamus. They spent a lot of time together and oneday, they found themselves making away on a couch. A few more days and Harry proposed. It was all a heat-of-the-moment thing and by the time the Dday came up, both of them had their doubts.

Malfoy, with his easy looks, limitless wealth and fast life had breezed his way in as Snape's friend and godson (no surprise there). Harry had earlier reached a truce with Malfoy over his nuetrality in the war and had now welcomed him as a means to become better acquainted with Snape (on Hermione's request, of course). He didn't realise he had dug his own grave till Seamus and Malfoy eloped leaving him the wedding guests, the feast and the bills. Apparently, the one time lovers had found a new spark in each other. This time it was easier to face the same people and their sympathy. Practice sure enough made one perfect.

Strangely, Harry had felt relieved after the whole episode. Like some miracle had derailed him from doing something he would have regretted. He had sworn himself off further affairs for a year or so and thrown everything into his games. Seamus and Draco had apologised, Ron had drunk a few more bottles of Firewhisky, Hermione had yelled at Snape (she felt it was all his fault Malfoy "stole" Seamus), the Wizarding press had hunted and haunted him Harry for a fortnight and now after almost an year, the whole businss lay forgotten as old news. Life had moved on...Now Hermione's strange quirk at making him work over her wedding had brought back memories best forgotten.

Harry shook himself out of the reverie. There was work to do. Hermione had fixed a date a month from now. The first order of business was to book a church and get a licence. A marraige officiator was to be sought. She had made the right choice in Harry. Who better to arrange a wedding than one who has arranged and cancelled his own weddings twice. He knew just the right people for the food and decorations, a couple who specialised in both wizarding and Muggle celebrations. The wedding dresses should be fixed up as early as possible. There was always some last minute problem in the fitting. It wouldn't do to look like an ill dressed guest in your own wedding. Oh, and then they would have to make a guest list and make sure about the bride's father, the groom's best man, the maid of honour and a few other details.

Glitches all, really. A marraige was really not as difficult as people made it out to be. The Muggle world had lots of people who actually took contracts to fix it up. The truly difficult part was the very decision to marry. It was a surrendor of freedom, a delightful yet momentous commitment of sorts. Harry often wondered why he was still hopeful. Twice a failure and yet he wished for another ...

Hermione had wanted Ron to make it for the wedding. Harry felt sure that at some point, Hermione must have wanted Ron. She had always been so tolerant of his goofiness. Yet, they hadn't even made a move towards each other. He wondered if her insistance on getting Ron to attend was her own way of coming to terms. Oh well, Ron's loss.

Without much hesitation, Harry wore a robe and apparated over to his second home to meet his other best friend, Ron the recluse (atleast, that is what he called himself).

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**AN: **Hi, I know this chapter didn't come out like the other chapter. I actually wanted to get on with my story and realised later that it wouldn't make sense withoutexplaining Harry's life in there. Iam optimistic myself and would like tosee a similar Harry. Hope you see him the way I do.  
Thanks for the reviews. I appreciateall. Reviewwhether you like it or not. If you really want some changes, do tell.And if you have any ideas about this story, do share. I would love to discuss.  
Luv,  
Vila


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